Learn Hardcore German: Im Kurs lernen wir viel voneinander. - In the course we learn a lot from each other.

German has a verb-second rule: the conjugated verb must be in the second position in main clauses, but the first position can be almost anything (subject, time, place, etc.).

Standard neutral order: Wir lernen im Kurs viel voneinander.
(Subject first: wir)
The original sentence: Im Kurs lernen wir viel voneinander.
(Place adverbial first: im Kurs; verb still second: lernen)

Both are correct and mean the same in most contexts.
Starting with Im Kurs just slightly emphasizes the setting (“In the course, we learn a lot from each other”) instead of the subject (“We learn a lot in the course…”).

What exactly does Im Kurs mean, and why is it written as one word?

Im is a contraction of in dem:

in = in
dem = the (dative, masculine or neuter singular)
Kurs = course (masculine noun)

So:

in dem Kurs → im Kurs

Kurs is dative because the preposition in with a location (where?) usually takes the dative:

Wo lernen wir viel voneinander? → Im Kurs. (Dative)

In everyday German, the contracted form im is almost always used instead of in dem here. In dem Kurs is grammatically correct but sounds more formal or emphasized.

Why is Kurs capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized.
Kurs is a noun (it names a thing: a course/class), so it has an initial capital letter:

der Kurs (the course)
im Kurs (in the course)

Why is it viel and not viele?

The difference:

viel (without -e) is used when it stands alone or modifies something uncountable or a verb/idea:
- Wir lernen viel. – We learn a lot.
- Wir lernen viel voneinander. – We learn a lot from each other.
viele (with -e) is used before countable plural nouns:
- Wir lernen viele Wörter. – We learn many words.
- Wir haben viele Kurse. – We have many courses.

In Im Kurs lernen wir viel voneinander, what is “a lot”?
It’s the amount of learning, not a countable noun (like words, rules, exercises). So viel is correct, not viele.

What does voneinander mean exactly?

voneinander literally comes from:

von = from
einander = each other

Together they form one word: voneinander = from each other.

So:

Wir lernen viel voneinander.
= We learn a lot from each other.

It expresses a reciprocal relationship: everyone in the group learns something from everyone else.

Why is it one word: voneinander, and not von einander?

Modern standard German writes these as one word:

voneinander (from each other)
miteinander (with each other)
durcheinander (mixed up, through each other)
untereinander (among each other)

Older spelling or very informal writing might sometimes show von einander, but the correct standard spelling today is one word: voneinander.

So Im Kurs lernen wir viel voneinander is the correct modern spelling.

Is einander the same as einander in “Wir helfen einander”? How does that work?

Yes, it’s the same reciprocal pronoun einander, which means each other.

Wir helfen einander. – We help each other.
Wir lernen voneinander. – We learn from each other.

In voneinander, the preposition von is attached to einander as a fixed unit: voneinander.

Unlike normal pronouns (mich, dir, ihm, etc.), einander itself does not change form (no different cases), but it combines with different prepositions:

füreinander – for each other
miteinander – with each other
voneinander – from each other
gegeneinander – against each other

What is the grammatical subject and verb in this sentence?

Subject: wir (we) – nominative plural
Verb: lernen – conjugated for wir (1st person plural)

Structure:

Im Kurs – adverbial of place (where?)
lernen – verb (2nd position)
wir – subject
viel – adverb indicating amount
voneinander – prepositional phrase (from whom? → from each other)

So the core clause is: Wir lernen viel voneinander.

Could I also say Wir lernen viel im Kurs voneinander? Is the word order flexible?

Yes, German word order here is quite flexible, as long as the conjugated verb stays in second position in main clauses.

All of these are grammatically correct, with only slight differences in emphasis:

Im Kurs lernen wir viel voneinander.
(Focus on in the course.)
Wir lernen im Kurs viel voneinander.
(Neutral; typical word order.)
Wir lernen viel voneinander im Kurs.
(Sounds a bit heavier and less common, but possible; often used for emphasis or rhythm.)

The most natural everyday options would usually be:

Im Kurs lernen wir viel voneinander.
Wir lernen im Kurs viel voneinander.

Why is it lernen wir and not wir lernen after Im Kurs?

This is again the verb-second rule:

Im Kurs = first element in the sentence
Then the conjugated verb must follow = lernen
Then comes the subject = wir

So:

Im Kurs (position 1)
lernen (position 2 – required for main clauses)
wir (position 3)

If you started with Wir, you’d get:

Wir (position 1)
lernen (position 2)
im Kurs (later)

Both obey the same rule; starting with Im Kurs just changes which element is in first position.

What is the difference between lernen and studieren here? Could I say Im Kurs studieren wir viel voneinander?

You cannot use studieren in this sentence.

In German:

lernen = to learn, to study (for school, exams, a language, etc.)
- Wir lernen Deutsch. – We are learning German.
studieren has two main uses:
1. To be enrolled in a degree program at a university:
  - Ich studiere Physik. – I am (a student of) physics at university.
2. To examine something in detail (more formal/literary):
  - Er studiert den Plan. – He studies/examines the plan.

In a normal course/class context like this, you talk about what you lernen, not what you studieren. So:

Im Kurs lernen wir viel voneinander. ✅
Im Kurs studieren wir viel voneinander. ❌ (unnatural/wrong in this meaning)

Could I say Wir lernen viel von uns instead of voneinander?

Wir lernen viel von uns is grammatically possible but means something different and sounds strange in this context.

voneinander = from each other
→ emphasizes mutual learning within the group.
von uns = from us
→ sounds like someone else (not “we”) is learning from us.

Examples:

Wir lernen viel voneinander.
We learn a lot from each other. (Everyone in the group learns from everyone else.)
Die anderen lernen viel von uns.
The others learn a lot from us. (We are the source; the others are the learners.)

So to express mutual learning inside the group “wir”, voneinander is the correct and natural choice.